Given the long-standing dispute over the sovereignty of Taiwan, a first meeting between official Chinese church delegates and the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan is being seen as a further significant thawing in relations.

A Catholic cardinal in Hong Kong and the bishop who succeeded him have called on the Chinese government to release imprisoned church leaders to mark the 60th anniversary of the creation of the Peoples' Republic of China

A religious freedom advocacy group has called on the international community to put pressure on China to respect the rule of law after the destruction of an unofficial Protestant church in the Shanxi province